Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 10:12 AM

On August 15 three men were ambushed and shot on the in the 400-500 blocks of Broadway, shortly after leaving Kimball's Carnival, one of the only remaining hip-hop and R&B clubs in downtown Oakland. As a result, Oakland Police requested a hearing to determine whether Kimball's cabaret license should be temporarily suspended. "From my prior experience, once violence occurs at or near a club, the reputation and propensity for additional violence increases," wrote OPD Sergeant Kyle Thomas, in a letter to the city's administrative hearing officer Barbara Killey. Thomas' prior experience includes patrolling outside Mingles Martini & Champagne Lounge, a now-defunct nightclub associated with shootings in the Jack London Square Area. He said that in this case, Kimball's was the "nexus" of the shooting, even though it actually occurred several blocks away. In his letter, Thomas asked for "a 60-day cooling-off period."

The Oakland Fire Department also noted that Kimball's has not installed its required fire alarm system, that its fire permit expired on August 19, and that it owes $640.37 in fees to OFD. The hearing happens Fri., Aug. 28, 10:30 a.m. in Oakland City Hall Rm. 1.